Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-01-13

that the other two were merely rfpeb'l0ns
ia other languages And that wns all
that George Frederick arotefend aceom-
plishei.
Iii 1920, Rich, an English Traveller,
noticed that tho spring rains hed we9hed
ertlleys in the valleys, and had bronguf TO
view numerous small stoned beapiifiilly
engraved with strange marks. He did not
know whnt to do with them, Nor did he
understand what they were, but gathered
numbers OF thsm and sent them to the
British museum, whore they were I'M
packed and exhibited to those interested
10 Oriental antiquities.
In 1Sa3 the French consul at Mosul
commenced investigating the mounds OF
Nineveh. He discovered number OF
alabaster slabs sticking out Of the earth
and clay. He wanted to dig down and
applied TO his government for aid which
was granted him. The excavations led
to marble floor the basement of on ex-
tensive palace Just as It had been left
when the city was destroyed in COZ B. O.
Everything indicated that the building
had been destroyed by fire even TO the
blackened rims OF sand. He sank another
shaft in new ground aud struck auoihar
floor. Here he founda number Of bricks,
thin cakes of clay, each one being covered
with cunaiform characters. He packed
them up and sent them TO The Louvre. A
sharp scholar noticed an identify be-
tween the tablets of Nineveh and PeIsep-
oils BY this time European in crest III
these matters had become intense.
In 1846 Lsyard determined upon a
systematic investigation. But he vas
more interested in art, in the discovery Of
urns, ceramics and other antique evil
denoes than in strictly pathological re-
search. He noticed holes in the
walls where Hlabs had been ti,ken
out. These were found to b. re-
ceptaoles for grein Grain WAS fund
blaokened in them, the particles q Im-
bling to fine dust upon contact seItL hay-
thing. He next found a mound i6.' feet
square and 90 high composed of III arnt
| bricks, the outside encased in siau' and
surmounted with pile of burni broke,
each one of which was marked with writ
| ing on both sides. In searching for tab
| let's he sank another shaft and discovered
ruins of great palace. From this be
| gathered stones which he sent to the
| British Museum. This turned out to bS
the palace of Sennacherib (of Bible his
| tory1 erected 700 b. O. during the time oi
the prophet ah. The scholars of the
British Museum were able to read these
stones. They told of Sennacherib, Shal
manezer, Jehu, king of Israel, and 0mri
another king of Israel, oil Bible char
acters.
The discoveries OF George Smith, nI
employe of the British Museum, followed
those Of Layard The former soon an
nounced that he had found tablets speak
ing Of the creation of the world, aud agsii
of the deluge, sll wonderfully resembling
the Old Testament accounts. In 1878 tn
London Telegraph sent out an expedition
under George Smith who pursued tn
same course as previously. AT first b
had little success and was very despond
ent. After several weeks Smith san
another shaft, discovering q number Q
Inscriptions and tablets, also images q
animals lying at the foot Of pedestals froI
which they had been thrown. These wer
sent to the British Museum. In the fO
lowing year the craze for Babylonian il
vestigation had reached fever heat, an
. the trustees of the museum again sci
Smith out To the discoyerer's deligi
he found in another place large number
of Inscriptions of various Sizes, descril
tive of the strifes of kings, and the
battles, and, greater prize than an, gran
mars by which the cipher could
studied. He even stumbled on the roy
library of Sardanapalus (Aasurbanipa
,, and the librarian's or ''man of the tablets
books.
In this ancient library, the speak
! continued, If frequenter called for o boo
i he given was brick "a thin clay table
j | which tho render pH'tcredRd to place :
some iiiestic- niltler ss,;ss.gssa.p ell
| or wax, taking the latter away with hin
! complete copy of the book or table
! Smith sent 8, 200 of these tablets home
: England.
: In closing the lecturer referred to q
= fact that what has been done is nothii
!, to what remains to be accomplished. III
] royal libraries of numbers of ancie
!, cities await the enterprise. Ur Of [
Chaldees awaits their plucky investie
:, ton as does also that of the first Shi
. manezer of the time of Abraham. He
= ierred to the expedition starting out ne
. fall conducted by members of the faoui
!, !, Of the University Of Pennsylvania, al
!, contrasted that oommendable outlay
= money, small as it is when compar
= with what American milionaires are dol
: for their personal pleasure in the i
= menss expenditure upon expensive yacl
- and other phases of personal indulgen'
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